The Saint of Our Village
by HEYItsAshamae
Summary: DISCONTINUED: Antoinette was friends with Tamaki when they were young. When he left for Japan, he promised her that they would be together again. When she finally gets the chance to see him again, will he remember her? TamakixOC
1. Prologue

Prologue

_I smiled at him, the saint of our village, noting how his violet eyes crinkled around the edges. Freckles lightly danced across the petit bridge of his nose, making me envy all the freckles cascading my pale skin. Breathing in the earthy smell of the blades of grass beneath us, I remember never wanting that moment to end. Not only because I was there with him, but because it was by __**his**__ choice that we were there together. His arm brushed against mine, giving my heart a jolt- a completely innocent act considering we were lying next to each other on the hill that overlooked the sea. _

_ "look," he pointed, "there's the ship that's going to take me to Japan tomorrow. Isn't it spectacular?" The awe in his voice was not surprising in the least. He had been waiting for this ship for weeks now. However, a sense of dread overcame my whole body until I shook with anger. I couldn't believe it! They were taking away the only boy I had ever gotten along with; the only boy that had ever paid any attention to me. How dare they?_

_ Turning my body away from him, I tried to silently let my tears fall. But it was to no avail. After a couple beats of silence, I felt his hand on my hair and his warm breath on my neck, comforting me in the only way he knew how._

_ "Don't fret, ma __chérie__," he assured me, "__Maman __promised__that her and I would see each other again, which means that we will too. Don't you see? We found each other, not by coincidence, but by fate!" He was stroking my long chocolate brown hair by then, his body curled slightly around mine in a protective stance. I took in a deep breath, letting the weight of his words surround me and take over my soul. I couldn't argue because I agreed completely; we __**were**__ destined to be together. Maybe not tomorrow, or the next day, or even a year from then- but we would eventually be together again. Of course, that's providing that he does not forget about me… I thought, the dread blanketing my soul for what would not be the last time. _

_ "Come now," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to me, "enough sulking! We should go home and get some rest. You'll be there tomorrow, right, to see me off?" I nodded, taking the chance to wipe away the last of my tears from my drenched face. He led me home, about two miles from that hill, walking me safely to the door like the gentleman he had always been. I could feel his eyes on the side of my face as I went to open the villa doors to my stone-clad mansion. I turned to ask him why he hadn't left yet, only to feel his soft lips collide with mine. He broke off, leaving me breathless, standing in front of him with an expression of astonishment written all over my face. _

_ "I… just had to do that before I left. You're the only friend I've ever known, Antoinette, other than __Maman__, of course…" he smiled then, close to tears. "I couldn't imagine a life without you. Oh, and I really did mean what I said about being together again some day, I promise. See you tomorrow?" And with that, he left, taking his hopes and dreams with him. Little did he know, he also took half of my heart…_

_ When the next morning came, I couldn't bear going to see him. I didn't want to watch him walk away on that boat and out of my life. I sent my older brother Francis with a note that stated:_

_ I am so sorry I couldn't make it to see you. But please understand that it wasn't because I don't want to see you. I believe everything that you said about seeing each other again, too. I guess maybe that's what makes it so hard for me to bring myself to say goodbye… Because, I know it isn't goodbye. Not really. We will see each other again soon, __Mon ami__! _À_Bientôt__! Safe voyage!_

_ And with that, he sailed away, my note clenched firmly in his hands, not knowing that I really was watching- from that spot on the hill. _


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I awoke from my dream with a jolt. Sweat was pouring down my neck and back, and the boat was lurching underneath me with such force, I was almost thrown from my cot. I felt rather sick and was beginning to rethink my decision about not eating breakfast that morning…

Running the back of my hand across my brow, I wiped the sweat off and crossed the room to my tiny dresser, putting on more suitable clothing. Today would be the day I would finally get off this wretched ship and step foot on solid ground- the solid ground of Japan. I smiled to myself in the mirror of my vanity as I brushed my long, gnarled hair and attempted to arrange it into a nice half-up 'do.

At last, my hair listened to me and lay on my head in the way I wanted it to. Sighing at myself and thinking, '_This is as good as it's gonna get…_' I wandered into the hallway, suitcase in hand, and found the captain of the ship standing at the wheel.

"Good morning, Captain! How long will it be until we're ready to unload?" He chuckled at the anticipation in my voice and waved me off, turning back to the wheel.

"No more than an hour, I would say. We've had great sailing weather so far, mademoiselle, so be thankful for that. We'll be on Japanese soil in no time, you'll see. So, if I may suggest…?" I nodded for him to continue, "Go get some breakfast. Jean-Paul made a fabulous Eggs Benedict dish this morning- you're boyfriend won't want to see you on an empty stomach…" He was joking with me, but my stomach gave a little flip-flop at his statement.

"Maybe it's best I follow your suggestion… Thank you Pierre." I bowed slightly and made my way to the kitchen. This was going to be a long hour…

When we finally arrived on Japanese soil, my breath was taken away. Japan was beautiful! For the first time, I could see why my saint had been so excited to travel to this country. The skies were clear and bright, and the people bustling about the docks were interesting, unique- nothing like the people I had grown up with in France.

As I stepped off the ship, I could feel the stares coming from some of the teenagers and elementary students around me. I didn't look like them. I wasn't one of them. I could hear their whispers and their excited claims of my being a foreigner. It was weird, but I could handle it. I had spent almost half a year on a ship; I could do anything. I gave my last goodbye to the Captain and his ship-hands, and made my way to the small house my parents had purchased for me. They didn't necessarily approve of my adventure to find my saint, but at least they had cooperated. Of course, my parents and I weren't on great terms… We never had been. They were always busy with work; they never had much time for me.

After I had gotten settled, I put on my new uniform: a long, light yellow dress. It was long-sleeved, which was crazy in this heat, but it rather flattered my figure. I didn't mind it, but it was a little too frilly for my own personal tastes. _But, I guess that's why they call it a uniform, right?_ I thought, _it's not supposed to fit your personal tastes…_ I called for a car and was transported to my new school, Ouran Academy. It was huge, almost like a castle. The hallways were empty when I arrived, seeing as it was time for the students to be in class, but I somehow got the feeling that I was being watched. Shaking the feeling off, I made my way to my classroom, 2A.

My heart pounded in my chest as I reached for the handle, coming to a complete stop as it opened for me. I came face to face with a gorgeous blonde male, his violet eyes capturing me and taking me back to France when I was young. I stared at him breathlessly as he exclaimed,

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess! I didn't know that you would be on the other side of the door." He gave me a once-over and took a strand of my hair between his fingers, bringing it to his face intimately. This was it! He knew it was me! "I don't believe I've seen you here before…"

"I'm new," I whispered, wishing that my voice would just stay calm, unlike my heart. "From France. My name is Antoinette DePaul." _Please let him remember me…_

"Antoinette…" My heart squeezed in anticipation, "That's a beautiful name! Well, Princess, I can assure you that you will have a splendid time at Ouran Academy! In fact, my friend Kyouya and I will make sure of that. We will be your personal guides for the remainder of the day- which means you must allow us to show you the Host Club." My heart sunk with every word he spoke. He didn't remember me. It had only been a few years, but he had completely erased me from his memory… I felt like such an idiot.

Trying not to cry, I nodded and whispered, "Sure. That sounds nice." And with that, he squeezed past me, saying that he would be back. He was going to the infirmary for a moment. I sucked up my feelings, tossed them aside, and strode into the classroom with my head held high. I would make Tamaki Suoh remember me if it was the last thing I did…


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks to all my faithful readers that have been reviewing and enjoying this story! I'm really sorry for the fact that a) I haven't updated until now, but I'm extremely busy (in 3 plays at once) and b) that this chapter is really short :P Sorry! But, please keep reviewing and I'll try to update as soon as possible!

Chapter Two

As my first day neared an end, I had devised half of my plan. I hadn't thought through very much, but all of the ideas I had come up with seemed at least plausible. It looked like this:

**The Tamaki-Notice-Me Plan!**

**Step 1: Spend as much time with him as humanly possible.**

**Step 2: Subtly bring up memories of France (casually mention his mom at some point)**

**Step 3: Make him jealous by dating his best friend…**

Okay, so that's not really half of the plan and step 3 might not happen… But at least it was something!

"Miss… DePaul?" My breath caught in my throat as I heard the teacher saying my name, bringing me back to reality. I felt the stares of my classmates and my cheeks began to heat up.

_Think Antoinette!_

I glanced around the room quickly and noticed that the black board had the words Huckleberry Finn scribbled on it, but there was no author name anywhere around the title of the book. I quickly assessed this and answered confidently.

"Mark Twain." The teacher began to contradict me, thinking I was wrong, then hesitated and looked fairly impressed.

"Very good… Class, you could learn a lesson from Miss DePaul here. Study up on your American literature!" Sighing inwardly, I turned back to my scribbling as the rest of the class got up to go home. Suddenly, there was a hand on my paper, covering the words I had just written. Looking up , I saw Tamaki standing next to my desk, a look of pure curiosity written all over his delicate features. I scrambled to remove the piece of paper from underneath his hand, but he got to it first.

"Oh?" He muttered, "What's this, Miss DePaul?" I snatched it from him before he could read anything and tucked it under my arm, along with my books.

"Nothing, nothing!" I replied, laughing away my embarrassment as I gracefully stood from my seat. "And please, call me Antoinette…" He smiled softly and I felt my knees begin to go weak. _Oh, behave body!_ I thought to myself. Tamaki must have noticed my slight distress and lay a hand on my arm.

"Are you alright, Antoinette…?" His face was so full of genuine concern that I felt bad. He was so gentle… the same guy I had known from my childhood.

"Oh, yes, yes I'm fine, Mister…?" I couldn't let him know that I already knew his name, and since he had not told me when we had met before, I had to ask now. Annoying, I know, but I would blow my cover otherwise…

"Ah, Tamaki Suoh! I'm so sorry, I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself!" He sounded dramatic at first, but then his voice softened to match his expression as he continued, "You must think I'm such a dope, huh?" I smiled and clutched my books closer to my side, fighting every urge I had to just hug him right then and there.

"Not at all, Tamaki. I just think you're a little scatter-brained." I giggled and he smiled at me. "So, what is this Host Club you were telling me about earlier?" I felt a hand on my shoulder, slightly surprising me, and turned to see a beautiful raven-haired man in glasses before me. I stared into his onyx-colored eyes briefly before he pushed his glasses up, covering them.

"Don't tell me you didn't fill her in, Tamaki," He said, bemused. I couldn't help but notice that he looked slightly sinister, and he gave off an almost chilling air around him. Tamaki pouted slightly and shook his head. Sighing slightly, the boy continued, "The Host Club is a place… (fill in later)" I blinked at him and began to walk toward the door.

"Well, that certainly sounds like fun… but, I don't know if it would be a good idea for me to go with you guys…" Tamaki ran up to my side and clutched my arm to him.

I swear my heart stopped.

"Why not Antoinette? It would be so much fun if you were there, and it would be a great way for you to meet new people…" His eyes were full of hope. I sighed quietly and closed my eyes.

"I guess I could go with you…" I said reluctantly.

Giving a shriek of excitement, he pulled me along with him until we were just outside a room marked, 'Music Room Three'. I gave him a quizzical look that he ignored, and he opened the door to reveal…

Rose petals? What the hell?


	4. Update: ORIGINAL CHARACTER CONTEST!

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been updating the chapters for either of my stories lately! I've just been super duperly DUPER busy with my senior year of high school ending and all… However, graduation is on Sunday, so I should be able to update a little more frequently!

Now to business: I am in need of an original character to be Antoinette's best friend in my story Saint of Our Village (if you're reading this story, you know what I'm talking about, if you're not, go read it!) So, if you would like a character of yours to be featured a LOT in my story, apply! **Deadline** is **May 15, 2011**! I will be picking the best application for the best friend, but I will also be picking two or three other characters to be cameo appearances! Have fun with it!

**The Application:**

basically, I…  
**am named**:  
**was born on**:  
**this many years ago**:  
**look like** (please, be original with your descriptions! actually describe what this girl/boy looks like and then you can put a celebrity look-alike at the end of the description to give me a little bit of a better idea):  
**act like **(your personality):  
**dress in **(your style):  
**have a crush** on (Host Club boy (or Haruhi tee hee!)):  
**came from** (I would like her best friend to be Japanese, but the town/city she/he came from is totally up to you!):  
**often participate in** (hobbies –if all he/she does is spend time at the Host Club, then put that!):  
**thinks Ashley **(the author) **is**:

**Please pm this application to me! Any applications filled out and posted as a review will ****NOT**** be counted! Thanks **


	5. Update: My Mistake

**Author's Note**: Thanks to my lovely reviewer, ShatterTheHeavens for pointing out that the deadline is **JUNE ****15, 2011** NOT May 15. Sorry for the confusion! *Sweatdrops at her own stupidity….*

Thanks everyone! I'll be choosing the winner on May 16 and posting it later that evening, so keep 'em coming! ^_^


	6. Update: ORIGINAL CHARACTER WINNER!

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! Sorry this has taken me so late to update… I know, I know, I'm a bad author :'(

HOWEVER! This is me updating **now** so that you will still love me! (I hope…) So! Let's get to it, shall we?

Unfortunately, this is not a new chapter (that will come with time, I **promise**). This is actually the announcement of who won my Original Character Contest! Yay! So… here it goes. The winner is… *drum roll*…

**bradytheboss887!** For the amazing application of Michiko Aida. She will be Antoinette's new best friend in the story! Good job :)

However, bradytheboss887 isn't the only winner… I've decided to award two other applications for a job well done by giving them cameo appearances! And those winners are:

**BrokenAngel16KL** for the application of Anika Matthias and **ShatterTheHeavens** for the application of Breanna 'Shun' Kohaku. Well done!

Alright, so I'm working on new chapters for both of my stories, but I'm extremely busy in the summer… so be patient! Thanks everyone!


	7. Chapter 3

**A/N: So sorry this hasn't been updated in forever! However, here is the next chapter and I hope to be a little more on top of my stories in the future… *sweatdrop* Heh. Okay! So, without further ado, enjoy!**

Chapter Three

As I stared into the classroom of the door that had just opened for me, five different nice-looking guys stared back. They were all dressed in some kind of cosplay and looked to be of all different ages and sizes.

"Ah, Tono-" Began a gorgeous red-haired boy who looked to be a grade younger than me.

"-who is this?" Finished the guy that seemed to be his other half. They were identical twins, there was no doubt about that with their shocking red hair and cat-like amber eyes; but something was off about each other them. One didn't seem to be exactly the same as the other… as you might expect in a situation such as this.

Tamaki chuckled beside me and my heart began to race- I had almost forgotten he was there! "This is our new Princess, Miss Antoinette DePaul." The twins seemed to be content with the answer, and went back to draping their arms around each other, smirking at me. "Miss De- Antoinette," he continued, remembering that I asked him to call me by my first name. "The Host Club is dedicated to pleasing young, beautiful women. Now that you're here, what is your type? Will you choose the Lolita-Shota, Mitsukuni Haninozuka?" Here, a small child-like boy peered up at me with big, doe-like brown eyes and a smile as bright as the sun.

"Or maybe the Little Devils, Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, are more your style?" The twins continued to smirk at me and wiggle their eyebrows before giving each other a look. "Then there's also the Natural type, Haruhi Fujioka," he continued, to which a small, petite-looking boy gave me a slight wave and a soft smile; he seemed genuinely happy to have me there. "Of course, there's also the Wild type, Takashi Morinozuka." A silent, very tall boy stepped out from behind the rest of the crowd. As tall as he was, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed him there until now! "We also have the Cool type, taken care of by Kyouya Ootori." The raven-haired man from my class stepped forward from behind me into the line with the rest of the previously mentioned Hosts. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and gave me a cool smile, but what frightened me was that he held no emotion in his eyes.

"Of course, the last is the Prince type," Tamaki whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine as he placed his hands delicately around my waist. This was all too much. I wanted to pick Tamaki, sure, but if I was going to keep up my act and make him notice who I really was, I couldn't let him know that I was head-over-heels for him so soon. So, forced to pick a type quickly under all their stares, I stated,

"I'll choose the Cool type." Everyone's faces looked fairly shocked and all eyes flitted over to Kyouya's face anxiously. I was slightly confused- he seemed as if he would have a large number of girls following him around, but her choosing him seemed to come as quite a shock to the rest of the members. Most of all to the twins; they were pouting at each other, muttering something about losing another play toy…

Because Tamaki was behind me, I couldn't see his face but I could hear his smile falter for a second in his voice as he (unfortunately) let go of me. "Good choice, Princess. Now, allow Kyouya to fulfill your every fantasy…" And then, he was gone. Just like that; as were the rest of the club members, he was now surrounded by a large group of girls that were fawning over him.

I was so jealous.

"So, Miss DePaul," Kyouya began as he offered his arm to me. "you're originally from France, yes?" I let my tiny arm slip into the crook of his, trying my best to keep the tears that had started to well up at bay. I didn't want to be with Kyouya, but it seemed the best choice to get to Tamaki- after all, they were in the same grade, same club and they seemed to be fairly good friends… Maybe the third option on my list would take effect after all.

"Oui," I answered, wondering if he would think my accent was cute. "I am from the outskirts of Paris." Kyouya looked over at me, smiling softly but I could tell it wasn't a real smile- his eyes didn't change from their emotionless state. He continued to lead me over to a table that had four chairs at it, and proceeded to take the chair across from the one I had decided to sit in.

"Interesting… that's where our King, Tamaki, is from." I tried to look surprised and intrigued, all the while already knowing that. I raised an eyebrow and took a sip of the tea that was sitting out before us, trying to think of something to say.

"Really? Well, he and I shall have to have a chat about it sometime- when he isn't working, of course." Remembering that Kyouya had been carrying a small, leather-bound bookkeeper earlier, I tried to play into my assumption that he was the club's manager. And manager's don't like when their members aren't working as hard as they should be, so she didn't want to seem like a threat to the club's money. "I wouldn't want the club to suffer on my account." I smiled and paused, taking another sip of tea as I peered at him over the top of my dainty cup. When I cushioned the cup in my hand, setting my pinky finger down before placing the cup on its coaster, Kyouya's face twitched slightly into a somewhat amused grin.

"Tamaki also does that," he pointed out as I set my glass down with barely any noise at all. Defending myself and feeling slightly attacked under the pressure of his gaze, I retorted,

"Well it's a French trick, I suppose." Clearing my throat softly, I folded my hands in my lap after smoothing down the skirt of my uniform. "Enough about Tamaki, tell me about yourself. Why is it that you're the 'Cool type'?" He pushed his glasses up once more, the light reflecting off of them, making it difficult for me to read his expression.

"Allow me to show you, Miss DePaul." He then proceeded to change chairs so that he was sitting next to me and he slid an arm around my shoulders, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. Our faces were inches apart when I looked back to him and I smirked, trying not to let him intimidate me.

"Ah, I see," I whispered, so that only the two of us could hear. "In my country, we call you the 'Bad Boy.' Every girl dreams of being the one girl a 'Bad Boy' might actually fall for… But they all know it's just a dream. 'Bad Boys' don't fall in love…"

"You say 'they' as if you're not one of them, Miss DePaul," he whispered back, face still inches from mine.

"Well," I looked into his eyes for the first time, seeing the glint of amusement in them. "We'll just have to see, won't we?" And with that, I stood, leaving Kyouya with an arm still wrapped around the top of the chair I had been sitting in. Walking out of the club, I knew that step three of my plan had been initiated. Although I had never been great at talking to gorgeous men, I figured I had this one eating out of the palm of my hand…


	8. Discontinued

Sorry Everyone! I'm not able to write much anymore since I am now in college and trying to earn my Associate's in Baking and Pastry Arts... Which takes up most of my time when I'm not working. So with that being said, I've decided to discontinue this story and call my other story (I Want Your Love...) finished. That doesn't mean I won't be posting on here ever again or that I won't ever come back to these stories and add to them. I just won't have time to post more than one-shots for a while...

Again, sorry to everyone who has been waiting for updates!

-HEYItsAshamae


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